The Origin of Species
by Charles Darwin

Our Price: $13.94
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.60 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of The Origin of Species

Book Review: A Book That Changed The Way We View The World
Summary: 5 Stars

There are several points in time which have changed the way people look upon the world around us. Finding out the world is not flat, but rather round is one. The Earth revolves around the Sun, rather than the reverse, and that all of the continents used to all be connected at one time, are a few more. Darwin's Theory of evolution rates right up there with these. For someone believing that the world evolved from Adam and Eve I can't imagine how upset he made these people feel by suggesting that we may have evolved from Monkeys, or some amphibian creature. Darwin's theories that animals (humans included) may have evolved from just four or five different progenitors, and that plants may have evolved from even fewer, or that we all may have evolved from just one species is fascinating. I believe he approaches it just the right way. He doesn't argue or criticize. He just lays it out there and you are forced to acknowledge it. Darwin keeps religion our of the equation. If religious groups want to go on there to name the amphibian being which crawled out of the ocean for the first time onto land Adam, that would probably be all right with him, so long as you admitted that their probably was such a being.

Science has improved since Darwin's day's and geology and archeology has improved, but he is still correct that we will not be able to find perfect fossils after all of these years to match all of the changes. Some of his other thoughts and comments I do not know whether to contribute to the period in which he wrote them to or just as preliminary thoughts that the actual tests would disprove.

For instance, Darwin mentions that he believes characteristics are only passed down to males to make them more capable of obtaining a mate and reproducing. Characteristics such as increased strength, brighter colors, and the ability to sing. However I would believe that other or similar traits would be passed down to the females as well to make them more attractive to male suitor, forcing them to want to fight over these particular females more than others.

Also Darwin mentions that the strongest produce the most descendants. In our society today that is not necessarily true. Money is associated with power or strength. Someone who has two kids may have more money and be considered to have more power. Since they live within their means they may be able to afford a better house, and to put their kids through colleges, as opposed to a family with seven kids in which they live by lesser means, and are unable to afford the same amenities as the family with just two kids, because they have less money to go around. The family with seven kids by this example may not be considered the strongest since they have more money, but yet they have the most descendants.

Biology Books

• Books > Subjects > Science & Math > Biological Sciences
• Evolution
• History & Philosophy
• Social Sciences